Virtual reality helps provide peace of mind

Maya Anderson

The West Australian

Monday, 26 November 2018

Many people find envisioning the floor plan of their new home a daunting experience, but a new technology pioneered exclusively in Western Australia by Gemmill Homes will allow people to walk through a full-sized, interactive virtual layout before their pad is even poured.

Gemmill Homes Group Managing Director Craig Gemmill said the company was excited to be the first builder in Perth to offer CADwalk, a unique, patented technology that allowed people to visualise their floor plan on a one-to-one scale.

Mr Gemmill said many people found settling on their plan a nerve-racking process and this was where CADwalk helped.

“People can find it difficult to read building plans and understand the flow and layout of their home if it is not to scale,” he said.

“Even ‘traditional’ virtual reality can be difficult for someone to understand how their furniture will look in their new home.

“By creating a floor plan that is to scale and putting scaled objects onto the plan, people can appreciate the size of their hallway, the distance from the front door to the main living area or the trip from the garage to the kitchen when carrying their shopping.”

Mr Gemmill said the technology also presented a large benefit for the company.

“As part of the sales process people can see changes they have made to one of our plans and basically confirm it is the house they want to build, which helps expedite the sales process,” he said.

“In the past, clients would continue to wonder if they should have made changes or whether they should have increased or decreased room sizes.

“CADwalk helps eliminate doubts about the design and clients can move forward with the colour and interior selections of their home with an idea of how their home will look once built.”

Gemmill Homes clients Sam Tindall and Amanda Bunschoten said their CADwalk experience was useful and enjoyable.

“You can see how big cupboards and wardrobes are going to be, where your windows sit and how furniture will fit,” Ms Bunschoten said.

“CADwalk made us realise how big our home was going to be, because it does look quite small on a plan.

“It definitely cemented our choice of home design – it made us realise it was a good plan and what we wanted.”

Mr Gemmill said since launching on October 1, numerous clients had experienced CADwalk and every client said the technology was invaluable.

“It helped them visualise their new home and make the necessary changes to ensure their new home suited their living requirements and preferences before a brick is even laid,” he said.

Currently the exclusive new home building partner with CADwalk in Australia, Gemmill Homes is offering the technology as a complimentary service to all its customers, whether they are building a custom or off-the-plan design, until January 1, 2019.

After this date a one-hour session costs around $1500 and can be booked directly through CADwalk.